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With Donnie Tyndall off to Tennessee, there is now a new head coaching vacancy down there in Hattiesburg at Southern Miss and one of the names being tossed around in the early stages is Kenny Payne. Payne was a candidate for the Golden Eagles job two years ago when Tyndall was hired to replace Larry Eustacy; CBSSports.com’s Jon Rothstein went as far as to tweet at the time: “Southern Miss’ replacement for Larry Eustachy should begin and end with UK assistant Kenny Payne.”

Payne is from Laurel, Mississippi, 30 minutes from the Southern Miss campus, and has several ties to the area. He’s also a proven recruiter nationally, one of the top assistants in college basketball.

It’ll be tough to see Payne go if this picks up steam and a hire is made, especially after seeing UK lose Orlando Antigua earlier this month, but it would be a good move for both parties. Payne returns home; Southern Miss gets a great coach.

From what I’ve heard down here in AL, Barbee was horrible at promoting the AU program (something Bruce Rhinestone was already GREAT at when he stepped off the plane and started high-fiving fans), so I don’t believe AT ALL he is the guy we need to fill the shoes of an effective recruiter like Payne or Orlando. He might be okay with game film and X’s and O’s, but not recruiting.

Kenny Payne has one of the meanest ‘stink eyes’ ive ever witnessed… the tv once zoomed in on him during a game when he was giving.. ‘the look’.. and my 2 year old started crying and my dog ran out of the room with its tail between its legs.